Election fever 2.0 — House turns to charter schools — Recent grads on life after college — Testing the waters on testing

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With tons of help from Allie Grasgreen, Maggie Severns and Stephanie Simon

ELECTION FEVER, 2.0: Following up on Monday’s Morning Education coverage [http://politi.co/RhPdBa] of several primary races across the country, we’re taking a look at several hot education races that won’t be decided until the fall.

— In Texas, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis recently called for a reduction in standardized testing and more local control over assessments. She’s also been blasting her opponent, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, for seeking to subject 4-year-olds to standardized tests. But the Austin American-Statesman rated that charge as “mostly false.” Abbott wants to assess how much students learn in publicly subsidized pre-K before expanding funding for the programs, but he’s not insisting on fill-in-the-bubble tests for young children; he would leave it up to districts to decide how to measure academic gains. Davis is calling for much broader and more immediate public subsidies for full-day pre-K.

— Another hot governor’s race for edu-pol wonks: Illinois. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn was out last week with a fundraising video that painted a bleak vision of the future if rival Republican Bruce Rauner were running the state. The ad warned of education cuts so deep, schools would end up with “no sports” and “no libraries” along with desperately overcrowded classes. Rauner has focused on his ed reform agenda of expanding charter schools, eliminating teacher tenure and implementing merit pay. He says he’s running against a “century-old educational policy regime” determined to preserve the status quo. The Quinn ad: http://bit.ly/Sln4tX

— In California, meanwhile, challenger Marshall Tuck picked up endorsements from the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee in his race against incumbent state superintendent Tom Torlakson. It’s likely to be a very costly race. Tuck, who ran the Green Dot charter school network for years, is backed by the well-heeled education reform crowd, while Torlakson has the support of the powerful teachers unions. The primary is June 3. The Tuck endorsements: http://lat.ms/1kwd4nM, http://bit.ly/1jqWJUL and http://bit.ly/1lSUdaA.

— Related sidebar: The Justice Department announced Monday that a campaign worker pleaded guilty for paying voters to vote in a November 2012 school board election in Donna, Texas: http://1.usa.gov/1kGFsFh.

HOUSE TURNS TO CHARTER SCHOOLS: If the House passes a charter school bill later this week and it dies in the Senate, it’s still a win for some House Republicans seeking election-year bragging rights. The bill, the Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act, passed out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support in April and is expected to pass the full House later this week.

— Charters have become a favorite issue for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Cantor has been pushing education to the forefront of the GOP’s agenda for more than a year, visiting schools, delivering speeches and shepherding education bills to the House floor. Republicans who think the party could win over voters by spotlighting education see this as a winning strategy — but others are reluctant to jump on the education bandwagon. Rep. Luke Messer, who recently started a House School Choice Caucus, said there’s “a lot of work to do” in getting other members on board. More from Maggie Severns: http://politico.pro/1igQqCY.

— Also on the Hill: Education Secretary Arne Duncan will testify before the Senate Budget Committee at 10:30 a.m. Eastern this morning. It’s his fourth round on the Hill this spring. And the House is set to consider a reauthorization of ESRA this week: http://1.usa.gov/1gAQVEL.

RECENT GRADS SOMEWHAT ENGAGED AT WORK: Graduates are more likely to be engaged at work when they’re female, when they’ve studied social sciences, arts or humanities and when they’ve attended small non-profit colleges and graduated within four years, according to inaugural findings from the Gallup-Purdue Index.

— On the whole, 51 percent of 30,000 college graduates surveyed said they’re not engaged or “actively disengaged” in the workplace. But about half of graduates said they’re thriving when it comes to their sense of purpose, community and social lives. Forty-two percent said they’re thriving in financial management and 35 percent said the same of their physical health.

— In one “inspiring” finding, Gallup Education Executive Director Brandon Busteed told Morning Education that minority and first-generation students are just as likely to feel like they’re thriving post-graduation, even though they’re statistically less likely to graduate. The findings: http://bit.ly/1nfpJSH.

TODAY: MCCASKILL, GILLIBRAND ON MSNBC: Sens. Claire McCaskill and Kirsten Gillibrand will join MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on TV today to discuss campus sexual assault, according to a Gillibrand spokesperson. Their MSNBC spot starts at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. Maggie Severns and I recently wrote about how the two senators have found common ground on campus sexual violence after differing on how to handle reforms to address military sexual assault: http://politi.co/1o05NDg.

TESTING THE WATERS ON… TESTING: More teachers and district leaders are saying that “just the right amount of time” is being spent on assessments and that those assessments better support teachers and students, according to a new study released by the Northwest Evaluation Association. Still, many teachers feel there’s too much testing. In 2011, 60 percent of teachers said students had to spend too much time preparing for and taking tests while 28 percent said it was just the right amount of time. In 2013, 53 percent felt it was too much time compared to 38 percent who thought it was just the right amount.

— The majority of students surveyed — about 80 percent — said they were unaware of the coming changes to state accountability tests. But 89 percent of students said it was important for them to know about such changes. More: http://politico.pro/1o0ekpP

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SENATE DEMS ZERO IN ON STUDENT LOANS: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to drop a bill this week that would allow people locked into sky-high interest rates years ago to refinance their student loans at much lower rates. The legislation aligns with a major Democratic election year interest: College affordability. And Democrats are taking on student loans as the next item on their “Fair Shot Agenda,” right up there with raising the minimum wage and paycheck fairness. Senate Democrats plan to hold a vote on higher education legislation near the beginning of June, likely based off Warren’s bill. POLITICO’s Burgess Everett reports: http://politi.co/1sdxnMV.

— In the House: Reps. Tim Bishop and Peter Welch are holding a Capitol Hill news conference today to introduce H.R. 4511, the "Protecting Students from Automatic Defaults Act." Terry Hartle of the American Council on Education, will be on hand for the conference at 3 p.m. at the House Triangle.

CHILD CARE BARRIERS: Student parents are more likely to attend a community college than a four-year institution, yet only 48 percent of two-year colleges provide on-campus child care compared to 56 percent of four-year institutions, according to a report out today from the American Association of University Women. In 22 states, half or fewer community colleges offer on-campus child care. In Alaska, Vermont, Guam and Puerto Rico, not a single campus offers the service; all the community colleges in Delaware, Nevada and Rhode Island do so. In California, which boasts the nation’s high of 118 campuses, 84 percent do. Of the 2 million student parents at community colleges nationwide in 2008, about 1.3 million were mothers, AAUW said. Parents who drop out usually cite caregiving responsibilities as a main obstacle. The study: http://bit.ly/Q7putW.

— The Education Department said it’s already received over 500 comments on a new grant competition to support the building, development and expansion of voluntary, high-quality pre-K programs. The department posted executive summaries for development grants here: http://1.usa.gov/RiiN9U and expansion grants here: http://1.usa.gov/SuC6xz.

NEW RESOURCE FOR HISPANIC FAMILIES: A new guide from the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics is designed to increase the share of Hispanic degree holders by providing information and advice on choosing a college, applying for financial aid and scholarships, and making it to graduation and exploring career pathways. Only 15 percent of Latino students hold a bachelor’s degree, the initiative’s executive director, Alejandra Ceja, said on a call with reporters Monday. The ¡Gradúate! Financial Aid Guide to Success is available in English and Spanish. http://1.usa.gov/R8IKs9.

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